In Theravada Buddhism is there such thing as a tulku system as one finds in the Tibetan mahayana Buddhism? im new the Theraveda and i haven't heard any mention of it,if there is please excuse my lack of understanding..if there is not why is there not?If the tulku system was true wouldn't it exist in all schools of Buddhism?

In Theravada Buddhism is there such thing as a tulku system as one finds in the Tibetan mahayana Buddhism? im new the Theraveda and i haven't heard any mention of it,if there is please excuse my lack of understanding..if there is not why is there not?If the tulku system was true wouldn't it exist in all schools of Buddhism?

Thank you

No such system is within Theravada. There is also no Bhodhisatva system as found in Mahayana also. There is no guarantee that the person thought to be the rebirth of X is the rebirth of X. and that is also emphasising staying within the bounds of samsara which is not part of any Theravada teaching. The most one could hope for is seven more lifetimes with no guarantee of them being in the human realm, there is not overiding the laws of Kamma that I know of that would make human rebirth a guarantee.

People should be lights unto themselves, and practice to release themselves from Samsara, this is how they can be a light for others.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion … ...He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.John Stuart Mill

In Theravada Buddhism is there such thing as a tulku system as one finds in the Tibetan mahayana Buddhism? im new the Theraveda and i haven't heard any mention of it,if there is please excuse my lack of understanding..if there is not why is there not?If the tulku system was true wouldn't it exist in all schools of Buddhism?

Thank you

Hi duffster,

There isn't a tulku system in Theravada, nor in any other Buddhist tradition. Its a Tibetan idea which began in Tibet with the Karmapa lamas in the 13th century.

Im just pondering if rebirth is true and its possible to recognize the continuum so to speak,surely there would be examples in other traditions,wouldn't there?if rebirth is happening why is it only one tradition claiming to be able to have insight into such matters of recognition?

duffster1 wrote:Im just pondering if rebirth is true and its possible to recognize the continuum so to speak,surely there would be examples in other traditions,wouldn't there?if rebirth is happening why is it only one tradition claiming to be able to have insight into such matters of recognition?

duffster1 wrote:if rebirth is happening why is it only one tradition claiming to be able to have insight into such matters of recognition?

All traditions have their own specific systems of beliefs. It is just that one belief may appear more weird to you than the other due to the way you have been conditioned yourself to believe this or that.

Or whether there is any verifiable evidence that it was something the Buddha taught.

With mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

In Theravada communities, there are also many incidences of people remembering past lives, but there isn't a systematic effort to identify or officially recognise who is reborn as who like the tulku system.

In any Buddhist country if an infant starts mysteriously reciting Buddhist texts and acting like a monk then their parents will take them to a monastery. It is simply that the Tibetans made an active effort to identify such children. As for predicting exactly where one will be reborn that is another matter entirely. Only a couple of Tibetan masters ever had this ability.

Raksha wrote:In any Buddhist country if an infant starts mysteriously reciting Buddhist texts and acting like a monk then their parents will take them to a monastery. It is simply that the Tibetans made an active effort to identify such children. As for predicting exactly where one will be reborn that is another matter entirely. Only a couple of Tibetan masters ever had this ability.

I come from a Buddhist country, there's a whole culture of ordaining Children here as monks, but I'm yet to hear of children suddenly reciting mantras and acting like monks. While I can't say what's really going on, we can argue that this kind of thing might be common in Tibet because of some sort of cultural conditioning. Are there a lot of these cases there?

That said, what is a bit more common where I come from is kids remembering past lives, some of which are hard to disregard as some sort of delusion or coincidence. I guess you can never REALLY know with these things unless it happens to you. Either way, all of this is besides the point when it comes to every day practice, and more often just a distraction.

duffster1 wrote:Im just pondering if rebirth is true and its possible to recognize the continuum so to speak,surely there would be examples in other traditions,wouldn't there?if rebirth is happening why is it only one tradition claiming to be able to have insight into such matters of recognition?

duffster1 wrote:Im just pondering if rebirth is true and its possible to recognize the continuum so to speak,surely there would be examples in other traditions,wouldn't there?if rebirth is happening why is it only one tradition claiming to be able to have insight into such matters of recognition?

Take a look at "the great rebirth debate" thread

Will find a wide range of views and interpretations there

I'm reading through it at the minute

i guess what i'm still wondering is if a child is able to be recognized and the location found by a Lama why does no Theravada master say they had visions of recognition of rebirths? or has it happened?

Isn't it the case that the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions have an aim of ensuring the enlightenment of all living beings, therefore the need for a Dalai Lama and Bodhisatvas? I've been told something along these lines by a New Kadampa monk in the UK.

Before they could even read, they were hailed as reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist legends in the vein of the Dalai Lama. Now young adults, these reluctant would-be spiritual leaders are stepping out of their monk's robes, becoming rappers and moviemakers, and blowing the whistle on sexual abuse at Buddhist monasteries.